Gear Removal
Crab Pot & Net Retrieval and Loss Prevention
Retrieval and Removal
Derelict Crab Pot Removal & Prevention Project
Port Townsend & Dungeness Bay Derelict Crab Pot Removal and Prevention Project
More than 12,000 crab pots are lost and become derelict every year in Washington’s Salish Sea, killing over 177,000 harvestable crab each year.
The Salish Sea Alliance (SSA) works to eliminate impacts of lost crab pots through targeted removals, research, education and outreach. Since 2002, the SSA and its partners have removed over 5,400 derelict crab pots from the waters of the Salish Sea.
Methods
Targeted crab pot removal and community outreach in Port Townsend and Dungeness Bays aim to reduce marine debris and protect vital nearshore habitats.
The Jefferson and Clallam County MRCs will spearhead outreach activities in their respective counties. Outreach activities are expected to include but are not limited to free workshops, dockside education, social media, and distribution of educational materials at marine supply stores, marinas, ferry terminals, and other locations frequented by crabbers. The efficacy of outreach strategies will be evaluated through documented changes in annual crab pot loss and feedback gathered through user surveys.
Goals
Halt continued mortality of Dungeness crab and other species in derelict crab pots
Over 5,200 acres of marine habitat cleared of marine debris
Document the impacts of derelict crab pots
Establish an effective and measurable outreach campaign
Reduce the number of crab pots lost annually
Retrieval and Removal
Newly Lost Nets Reporting, Response, and Retrieval Program
A no-fault program helping fishers report and recover lost nets quickly—preventing long-term harm to Puget Sound’s marine life and habitats.
As of December 2015, the Salish Sea Alliance removed more than 5,600 pieces of derelict gillnets throughout the Puget Sound region. This large-scale operation to remove nets, which had been lost anywhere from a few years to decades long took over twelve years to complete. We are now focused on preventing future loss and retrieving newly lost nets as quickly as possible.
To facilitate this effort we developed the newly lost net Reporting, Response and Retrieval Program. Working closely with Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and Puget Sound Treaty Tribes, this no-fault, no-penalty program provides commercial fishers with a reporting system to ensure that newly lost nets are located and removed before they become derelict and cause unintended harm.
Since the program’s inception in 2012, the Foundation has removed 87 newly lost nets and investigated 132 reports of lost nets. The remaining reports were either not found or determined to not be derelict fishing gear.
The Foundation urges all fishers to report lost nets within 24 hours.
Tribal fishers can report through their tribal channels or to the Salish Sea Alliance at:
(360)-733-1725
or online HERE
State fishers can report to the Salish Sea Alliance or to WDFW at:
(855)-542-3935
Include the following information in your report (please be as detailed as possible):
Type of gear
General Location
Approximate Water Depth
Latitude
Longitude
For More Information Please Contact
